USC Track Camp - Our Staff

Our Staff

2009 Track Camp Staff

Click on anyone of the photos below and will be able to read about there coaching careers and accomplishments.

Curtis Frye: Director/Head Track & Field Coach

Entering his 13th year as head cross country and track and field coach at South Carolina, Curtis Frye has established a program that is regarded as one of the nation's elite. Frye has coached or overseen over 53 NCAA champions and almost 350 NCAA All-Americans during his career.

Last season, the women's team had the highest finish of any team in the state of South Carolina when it placed third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and saw Greenville native Amberly Nesbitt (100m) and Shalonda Solomon (200m) both win NCAA titles. It was the 11th straight year the women have finished in the top 10 -- matched only by Arkansas' men and Texas' women. The men were 30th behind the third-place finish of Jason Richardson in the 110m hurdles.

All told, the two teams collected 18 All-America honors in 2006, and the women won the NCAA East Region title for the second straight year. Academically, five USC athletes were named to the CoSIDA District III Academic All-America team (the most of any team in the SEC or ACC), and Shalonda Solomon was named the USTFCCCA National Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year along with being tabbed SEC Indoor Runner of the Year. As a team, the women were named USTFCCCA National All-Academic Outdoor Team of the Year.

With the No. 2 (women) and No. 5 (men) ranked recruiting classes in 2005, Frye coached nine athletes, including four freshmen athletes, Richardson for the men's team and Natasha Hastings, Nesbitt and Solomon for the women, to All-America honors at the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championship. Leading the men to a 19th overall finish, Richardson, the 2004 Gatorade Athlete of the Year, earned third place in the 60m hurdles, while Rodney Martin broke the school indoor record in the 200m with a third-place finish. Hastings and Nesbitt's semifinal performances in the 400m and 60m earned them All-America honors, while Solomon finished fifth in the 200m and anchored the women's 4x400m relay to another national title. The women's team finished fifth overall.

Outdoors in 2005, the USC women won the SEC title for the third time in the program's history. The Gamecocks continued on to New York City where they claimed the NCAA East Regional Championship for the first time since the meet was established. Carolina ended its season with the second best finish in the program's history, finishing runner-up at the NCAA meet. The men and women combined for 18 All-America honors, including a school record-breaking performance by Martin in the 200m and the first All-America honor in the 100m since Terrence Trammell in 1999, also earned by Martin. Frye was named SEC, USTCA Southeast District and East Region Women's Coach of the Year, while Tiffany Ross-Williams was named USTCA Southeast District Athlete of the Year.

Also in 2005, Frye coached nine athletes to the USATF Junior and Senior Championships, where two freshmen athletes, Hastings (400m champion) and Nesbitt (100m runner-up), made the Junior National Team, and Stephanie Smith and Solomon were selected for the relay pools for the World Championship in Helsinki, Finland. Shevon Stoddart made the Jamaican National Team and competed in Helsinki as well.

In 2004, Frye served as an assistant coach for the USA Olympic women's track and field team in Athens, Greece. His responsibilities included working with the sprinters and the relays. Nine Gamecocks, currently and formerly coached by Frye, were among the Olympians, three of whom received gold medals. Among the medalists were Otis Harris (USA), who won a silver in the men's 400m and a gold as part of the 4x400m relay. Former athletes Aleen Bailey (Jamaica) and Tonique Williams-Darling (Bahamas) won gold medals in the 4x100m and 400m, respectively. Adrian Durant (Virgin Islands), Stoddart (Jamaica) and Lashinda Demus (USA) also represented USC track and field in Athens.

During the season, South Carolina athletes gathered 27 All-America honors, four NCAA runner-up finishes, a first-team academic All-American and a second-team academic All-American. Frye guided his women's team to its ninth consecutive top-10 outdoor finish, while his men's team finished in the top-15 indoors. Tony Allmond and Demus were both runner-ups in the long jump and the 400m hurdles, respectively at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.

During the 2003 indoor season, the Carolina women placed second at the NCAA Championships, finishing in the top-five for the fourth consecutive season. The Gamecock men's team finished fourth, its highest finish since a fourth-place showing in 1999.

Individually, Frye had three women win NCAA titles in 2003: Bailey in both the 100m and 200m outdoors, and Demus in the 400m indoor. A pair of USC athletes combined to collect three U.S. Junior Championships (Kenneth Ferguson, 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles; Tawana Watkins, 400m hurdles) and both represented Team USA in the Junior Pan American Games. Additionally, Bailey went on to earn SEC Outdoor Athlete of the Year, and Ferguson was named the conference's Freshman of the Year.

Frye also coached athletes to international success in 2003 at the World Championships in Paris. Allen Johnson won an unprecedented fourth title in the 110m hurdles, while Trammell placed second in the event. Former Gamecocks Lisa Barber and Demetria Washington helped Team USA claim the 4x400m relay crown.

Continuing to build a program on the national and international level, Frye saw years of hard work pay off in 2002. The women carried home the national championship trophy from the NCAA Outdoor Championships, South Carolina's first national team championship in any sport. The Gamecock women also carried home the championship trophy from the SEC outdoor meet that same year. The men placed in the top 10 indoors and outdoors in 2002, finishing sixth in both.

The two programs crowned three NCAA champions in Demus (400m hurdles outdoors) and Otukile Lekote (800m, indoors and outdoors) and also saw the women's 4x400m relay set the collegiate outdoor record with its national title victory. The women's 4x400m indoor relay and 4x100m outdoor relay teams, as well as the men's 4x400m outdoor relay team also won national championships. The two teams combined to collect over 52 All-America honors and put 33 athletes on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Frye earned 2002 National Coach of the Year and SEC Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year honors. In addition, Washington was named the National Indoor Female Athlete of the Year, while Track and Field News tabbed Demus as its National Female Athlete of the Year. Lekote was named National Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Frye entered the 2002 season with the best recruiting class the Carolina women's track and field program has ever seen, including nine stars who made an immediate impact on the success of the team. The class was heralded by Track & Field News as the No. 1 classin the country.

Frye and the elite athletes he coached in 2001 had an extraordinary year, which earned Frye the prestigious 2001 Nike Coach of the Year Award. Allen Johnson won his third World Championship gold medal in the 110m hurdles, his fourth U.S. Outdoor crown in the event, as Frye sent a total of 11 athletes to the 2001 World Championships. Adding more coaching honors to his distinguished list, Frye was the men's coach for the United States at the 2001 Goodwill Games. He coached Johnson and Trammell to championships in their respective events. Johnson won the 110m hurdles and Trammell claimed the 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships.

The 2000 season was another stellar year for Frye, as the women's indoor team finished the season with an unprecedented second-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The outdoor women's team finished runner-up at the SEC meet and also went on to finish sixth at the NCAA Championships. The men's outdoor team finished the season with an 11th-place showing at the NCAA meet. Indoors, behind Trammell's 20 points, the men finished eighth.

To conclude the 2000 season, USC standouts Trammell and Miki Barber were both named National Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of Year. For his efforts, Frye was named the women's regional Coach of the Year.

Frye was not done yet, as he accompanied 12 former USC athletes and coaches to the Sydney Olympics. His athletes brought home four medals: a gold to former volunteer coach Monique Hennagan (USA, 4x400m relay); a silver for alum Charmaine Howell (Jamaica, 4x400m relay); a silver for Trammell (USA, 110m hurdles) and a bronze for volunteer coach Melissa Morrison (USA, 100m hurdles).

In 1999, Frye took the Gamecocks to unprecedented success, with the women winning the SEC Outdoor Championship. The women were a school-best third at the SEC Indoor Championship. After finishing fourth indoors, the women were seventh at the NCAA Outdoors. The men finished in the top-six both indoors and outdoors. Bringing home a trophy for its fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the men finished sixth outdoors. The men ended a school-best second at the SEC Indoor Championships and were sixth outdoors.

The two programs combined to set 35 school records. The Gamecocks won three individual NCAA titles, an NCAA relay title, 14 SEC titles and crowned 29 All-Americans. USC also featured two academic All-Americans in Keith Hall and Michelle Fournier. Hall went on to Emory Medical School and Fournier was granted an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

For the efforts of Frye and his staff in 1999, Frye was named the Men's Indoor National Coach of the Year and the Women's Outdoor National Coach of the Year. Frye also snatched the SEC Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year title. It was the first time in the history of the USTCA a coach won the award indoors (men) and outdoors (women).

In 1998, his second year at Carolina, Frye led the Gamecocks to national prominence. Indoors, the Gamecock men were seventh and the women finished 11th at the NCAA Championships. Outdoors, the two teams flipped places, as the women finished seventh and the men 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. For his work, Frye was named the Outdoor USTCA Region Coach of the Year. Individually, Carolina won four NCAA titles, 13 SEC titles and garnered 23 All-America honors indoors and outdoors.

In his first season at Carolina in 1997, Frye hit the ground running and the fruits of his labors paid off as the women's team finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and fifth outdoors. The men also had an impressive track and field season, finishing seventh indoors with a team that had no seniors. Frye was named both the 1997 USATF and USOC Track and Field Coach of the Year.

Hired at South Carolina on July 29, 1996, Frye came to Columbia after serving as assistant head coach at North Carolina for four years. During his tenure at UNC, he was a part of 13 ACC championship teams.

Prior to his stint with the Tar Heels, Frye was an assistant coach at Florida from 1988 to 1992. While with the Gator program, he coached three NCAA individual champions and one relay champion team. In total, 29 All-America certificates were earned while Frye was in Gainesville.

From 1984 to 1988, Frye was an assistant coach for N.C. State, aiding the Wolfpack to four conference championships. He was instrumental in leading State to 27 All-America honors, four individual NCAA second-place finishes and 37 conference champions.

Frye began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater, East Carolina, in 1974. He also served as head coach for the men's soccer team and was director of facilities. Frye took a break from the collegiate ranks from 1979 to 1984 when he was head track and field coach for Douglas Byrd High School in Fayetteville, N.C.

Delethea Quarles: Co-Director/Jumps and Multis Coach

Delethea Quarles is in her 12th year with the USC program and her 18th year as a collegiate coach. Promoted to assistant head coach in 2005, her primary responsibilities include coaching the multi-event performers and jumps. Quarles also oversees eligibility and is the academic liaison.

South Carolina saw five men and women on the 2006 CoSIDA District III Academic All-America list -- the most of any team in the SEC or ACC. Shalonda Solomon was named the 2006 USTFCCCA National Indoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, the women's team was honored by the organization as the Academic National Champions, claiming a first-time academic victory over Stanford.

Quarles saw graduate Greig Cryer finish a career-high third in the long jump at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championship with a leap of 26-0. He set the indoor school record in the triple jump, crossing the board at 52-5 1/4. The record had stood for 12 years (Marcus Sutton, 1993, 51-4 1/2). He also picked up All-America honors outdoors.

Last September, Quarles worked as an assistant coach on the all-star squad of coaches for the USA World Cup team in Athens, Greece, over Sept. 15-16. Her responsibilities included coaching all the jumps. The previous month, she coached at the USA versus Netherlands Heptathlon in Holland. She also was recently chosen as a head coach of the USA Junior National Team that will compete at the 2007 Pan American Championships in Brazil during July.

Quarles ended the 2005 season as an assistant coach for Team USA at the Pan American Championships held in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. With her assistance, the USA team earned 57 medals, the second-highest of all time. Also in 2005, South Carolina's men's and women's jumps program experienced great success under Quarles' guidance. While almost all of her jumpers improved their marks during the season, Cryer, Chelsea Hammond and Kemesha Whitmire proved that with Quarles' leadership the sky is the limit.

On the men's team, Cryer who struggled with a hamstring injury throughout the indoor season, returned outdoors, determined to fight through his injury and make significant improvements throughout the season. Under the guidance of Quarles, Cryer ended the year with his season-best performance, claiming the NCAA East Regional long jump title. Also showing great improvements and qualifying for Junior Nationals was jumper Derek Pressley.

Leading the women, Quarles coached Whitmire to the program's first SEC title at the conference outdoor championship in Nashville, Tenn. Whitmire's jump of 43-8 just missed the school record but was enough to claim the No. 2 spot on the all-time list, take the conference title and contribute significantly to the Gamecocks' third SEC Championship title.

Hammond also experienced great improvements in 2005. Hammond, who claimed her fourth consecutive Penn Relays long jump title, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championship in both the high and long jumps. Also stepping up over the course of the season was jumper Monica Bozenski, who experienced great improvements in the high jump.

Quarles led Cryer and Hammond to the NCAA Championships, where Hammond's points contributed to the women's NCAA runner-up finish.

In 2004, Fred Townsend and Tony Allmond were named Regional Indoor and Outdoor Athletes of the Year. Allmond also placed second in the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a leap of 27-4 in the long jump. Quarles coached Hammond to a then-PR of 20-0 1/2 and was later appointed coach for the 2005 Junior Pan-Am Games.

The year prior, long jumper Antoinette Wilks finished third at both the SEC Outdoor Championships and the NCAA Indoor Championships. Wilks also finished second in the pentathlon at the SEC indoor meet. She placed second in the long jump at the 2002 SEC Outdoor Championships and led the SEC with a jump of 21-8 in 2001. During the 2000 season, she placed third in the long jump at the USA Indoor Nationals and competed at the U.S. Olympic trials. She also participated in the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

At the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Championships, Tacita Bass finished third in the heptathlon. Bass also won the heptathlon at the SEC Outdoor Championships. In 2000, she competed in the heptathlon and earned All-America honors in the 4x400m relay at the NCAA Championships.

All-American Rodena Barr recorded a personal record of 44-2 in the triple jump, and competed at the 2002 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Also that season, Townsend finished third in the decathlon at the SEC Outdoor Championships.

At the 1999 SEC Championships, heptathlete Erin Narzinski won her second title in three years. Bass was the runner-up at the Penn Relays and scored in the heptathlon and the 400m hurdles at the SEC meet while running a leg of the NCAA qualifying 4x400m relay.

In her first year, Quarles saw Narzinski shatter the school record in the heptathlon, finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships, second at the SEC Championships and eighth at the USATF Junior Nationals.

Prior to coming to South Carolina, Quarles was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Liberty, for eight years. A three-time All-American, Quarles has a bachelor's degree in psychology and is a native of Covington, Va.

Stan Rosenthal: Distance/Cross Country Coach

As cross country coach, Stan Rosenthal enters his 8th year at South Carolina, looking to continue building upon the success he began in 2001. Rosenthal also coaches the distance runners during track and field season and was instrumental in coaching the South Carolina women's team to its 11th consecutive NCAA outdoor top-10 finish in 2006.

In 2006, Shay Shelton added to Rosenthal's total of SEC champions by claiming the indoor league crown in the 800m. Johnny Baez and Shawn Cunningham both found success in the 800 as well. Baez qualified for the NCAA East Regional meet and Cunningham was an SEC finalist and scorer.

The year prior, Rosenthal coached Jenny Lake to a record-breaking 3,000m performance at the SEC Indoor Championship. Lake, who ran 9:41, broke the school indoor record she set in 2003 with a fourth-place finish. Rosenthal also coached the DMR team to a second-place finish at the SEC Championships.

With Rosenthal's assistance, the women's team finished fifth indoors at the NCAA Championships, while capturing the SEC outdoor and NCAA East Regional titles and finishing runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

In 2002, South Carolina's women finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and won the SEC and NCAA Outdoor Championships, giving the Gamecocks their first national team title in any sport. He coached Otukile Lekote to two NCAA titles (800m indoors and outdoors) and on the second leg of USC's NCAA champion 4x400m relay team. Additionally, Rosenthal oversaw the men's sprint medley relay team that was ranked No. 1 in the USA and NCAA that year. His 2005 women's squad accomplished the same feat as well.

Prior to joining the South Carolina staff, Rosenthal was the head men's and women's cross country and track and field coach at UNC Asheville. During his seven-year tenure, the women won four Big South Conference Cross Country Championships. In the three years the women did not win, UNC Asheville finished as runner-up. The men's cross country team was Big South Conference runner-up in three of his last four years.

Rosenthal's runners have achieved success from the conference level to the world championship level. Two of his freshmen runners earned spots on the USA Junior Team and competed in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where they placed 40th and 43rd, respectively. Two other runners competed in the USA Olympic trials. Many of his runners have qualified for the NCAA Track and Field Championships, while numerous athletes won individual conference championships. During his seven years as a high school coach in Virginia, two runners qualified for the Kinney/Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships.

Rosenthal has served on several USA international coaching staffs. He coached on three USA staffs for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and was a coach at the USA Olympic Festival. In 2001, he was appointed to the NCAA Track and Field Committee. As a member of the Executive Committee for the Women's Cross Country Coaches Association, Rosenthal acted as the Southeast Region representative. He earned USA Track and Field Level I and II certifications for the endurance events.

Academic success is very important to Rosenthal. His athletes have achieved individually and as a team. In 2005, Rosenthal's cross country team placed four runners on the SEC Academic Honor Roll and three on the President's List. The cross country team had a cumulative GPA of 3.58. Also in 2005, Lake was named USC Scholar Athlete of the Year, a McWhorter Scholar and the recipient of an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. The first-team academic All-American graduated with a 4.0 GPA and with honors from South Carolina's Honor College as a mathematics major.

Two of the women's cross country teams coached by Rosenthal were ranked in the NCAA Division I top-20, and seven athletes were selected as conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year. During his coaching career, over 90 percent of the athletes he has recruited and coached have graduated. Many later earned graduate level degrees, including three who are currently in medical school.

In addition to his coaching stint at UNC Asheville, Rosenthal coached at Long Beach State, Georgia, South Alabama and was a graduate assistant coach at Tennessee. He also coached at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va., and in Spotsylvania, Va., where he started his coaching career in 1976.

Rosenthal earned his master's degree in education from Tennessee in 1983. His undergraduate degree came from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1975, where he majored in history and elementary education. While at IUP, he was a four-year varsity letterwinner. In 1973, Rosenthal competed in the six-mile run at NCAAs. He also was a member of two national-qualifying cross country teams for IUP in 1970 and 1972.

Mike Sergent: Assistant Coach/Throws

Mike Sergent enters his 12th season with the Gamecocks' track and field program. His primary responsibilities are coaching the throwers and coordinating the strength and conditioning program.

Last season saw the fruits of Sergent's labors pay off. Precious Akins was fourth in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after winning the regional title. Earlier in the outdoor season, she threw 185-9 to shatter former NCAA champion Dawn Ellerbe's school record. Akins was one of seven men and women to qualify for the NCAA Regional. At the SEC Championships, Sergent saw his throwers score in the men's javelin, hammer, shot put and discus. Brook Antonio was third in the discus and the hammer at the SEC Outdoor Championship -- the highest finishes by a Gamecock male in eight years. On the women's side, the ladies scored in the shot put and discus.

Under Sergent's leadership in 2005, Akins made great improvements, especially during the outdoor season. Akins' highlights of the season included her third-place finish in the discus with a throw of 174-8 and fifth place in the shot put at the SEC Outdoor Championships. Akins' performance significantly contributed to the Gamecocks' conference championship and earned her a trip to New York City for the NCAA East Regional.

Sergent also tutored Tyler Trout and Joseph Schroeder, two walk-ons, to big SEC outdoor finishes. Trout, who put the first points on the board for the Gamecocks, finished eighth in the hammer, while Schroeder, who showed improvement in the javelin all season, finished sixth with a throw of 197-0.

In 2004, Sergent guided Akins to a 25-foot improvement in the discus throw, as she made a significant impact at the SEC (fourth) and NCAA East Regional Championships (second). She was the U.S. junior leader in the discus and had the top throw for a freshman in the NCAA. Adam Bishop, Antonio, and India Odum were all NCAA qualifiers, and Katie Desin had a personal-best in the javelin throw at the SEC Championships to win a bronze medal.

2003 was another memorable year, as Sergent helped guide Nicole Kendrick to a second-place finish in the shot put at the SEC indoor meet and an NCAA Championships berth. During the outdoor season, Bishop (shot put), Antonio (hammer and discus), Scott Alsup (javelin), Odum (shot put and discus) and Keri Groover (discus) all were NCAA qualifiers. Former Gamecock Ellerbe reached the World Championships in Paris under Sergent's tutelage as well.

In 2002, Odum placed third at the SEC Championships in the shot put and Mamee Groves was 19th in the weight throw nationally. Groover threw a personal-best at the SEC Championships to place fifth and move her to No. 3 on the all-time list at South Carolina.

On the professional level, Sergent worked with Ellerbe and helped her become the USATF national runner-up in both the weight and hammer throws. She finished the year ranked seventh in the world in the hammer and also ranked eighth nationally in the discus throw.

In 2001, Sergent coached Lynette Keppeler to an SEC championship in the shot put, while Alana Robinson was the SEC runner-up in the discus. Also that year, two of Sergent's former athletes, Brad Snyder and Lisa Misipeka, along with Ellerbe, traveled to Edmonton, Canada, for the 2001 World Championships.

In his third year, Sergent coached Candy Mitchell, Bert Sorin, and Ryan Harrison through the U.S. Olympic trials. At the 2000 Olympic Games, the Gamecocks were represented by Snyder, Misipeka, and Michelle Fournier.

In 1999, Sergent's athletes won four SEC titles, with Snyder winning the NCAA indoor shot put title and finishing as the runner-up outdoors. Fournier, an academic All-American and NCAA runner-up, was awarded an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. Misipeka also won a bronze medal at the 1999 World Championships -- the school's first in a major international meet.

In his first year at USC, Snyder and Misipeka led the way, each winning two NCAA titles. The USC throwers also accounted for 10 All-America honors and seven SEC championships in 1998.

Prior to coaching at South Carolina, Sergent was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Virginia Tech, for five years. At Tech, he assisted in one Metro and four Atlantic 10 Conference championship teams from 1993 to 1997.

Sergent holds a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology and a master's degree in sports management from Virginia Tech. He was a 1992 All-American and Olympic trials qualifier in the hammer.

Jackie Madison: Assistant Coach/Sprints and Hurdles

Gamecock All-American Jackie Madison enters 2009 in her second season as an assistant on the South Carolina staff. Her primary responsibilities are assisting with sprints and hurdles in addition to helping coordinate recruiting efforts. She also serves as the team's massage therapist.
Madison was a key member of the South Carolina track team from 1998-2001. She was a member of the first SEC Outdoor Championship team at South Carolina in 1999 and developed into one of the conference's top hurdlers under the direction of Coach Curtis Frye.

Madison won the SEC title in the 60-meter hurdles and earned All-America status in 2001. She is an eight-time scorer at the conference level in the 60-meter hurdles, 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles and led the team to a fourth-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Outdoor National Championships. Madison is the current South Carolina record holder in the 55-meter hurdles.

Prior to returning to South Carolina, Madison worked as a certified personal trainer in the Columbia area before moving to Atlanta, Georgia, where she spent time as both a personal trainer and Licensed Massage Therapist at the Holyfield International Track Club.

Madison holds a bachelor¹s degree in exercise science from the University of South Carolina. She also completed study at the Columbia campus of the Southeastern School of Neuromuscular and Massage Therapy.

News and Events

February 2.09.

February 1.09.